


Indirect Effect

by GhostCwtch



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Clint doesn't deal with his feelings, Established Relationship, M/M, Phil deals with his anger by taking it out on the baby agents in a passive aggressive way, Phil is noticing that, abuse of tags, angsty a bit, bitterness over studying EU law, kind of introspective?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-15
Updated: 2013-10-15
Packaged: 2017-12-29 12:13:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1005298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostCwtch/pseuds/GhostCwtch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The damage Loki caused was not limited to Phil's injuries, but it's taken him a little while to catch on to that fact.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Indirect Effect

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah so I'm studying post-grad law and I really really hate EU Law. It's painfully boring and I just felt like Phil would send the baby agents to study it on the context that they're going to need to know for European ops. Really though, he knows that they're going to hate the course and just wants to watch them suffer. That was the original premise for this but then Clint came in and got his angst all over things. So there you go.
> 
> Edit: I'm not even joking right now, but one of the precedent cases for indirect effect in EU law is "Van Colson [1984]" so obviously me writing this before I read that part of the chapter is proof of my psychic abilities.

When Phil gets really, truly irritated with the baby agents, he has a nasty habit of putting them in the EU skills course. Technically, it is increasing their skill base and could prove useful to know who did what and when and why each country has done things since the formation of the Union. Technically.

In reality, most of SHIELD's recruits come from the US and only have a vague idea of what the EU is even supposed to do, much less which treaties made what changes. It's the cutting edge of politics, in an extraordinarily boring way.*

So yes, when the baby agents get too annoying or fuck up a milk run in a way that makes Phil want to rip out what's left of his hair, he sends them to the EU course and then plays back the security footage on mute so as to fully appreciate just how wonderful the bored-to-tears expressions are. Every once in a while, he wishes that Barton was a regular agent instead of a specialist so that Phil could shove him into that class as well.

Today is shaping up to be one of those days. Ever since Phil managed to pass his physicals and clear for what he personally thought of as "barely above desk work," Hawkeye had been hovering less like a hawk and more like a worried mama hen with too many chicks. Had the circumstances been different, Phil's sure that he'd be more appreciative of the extra attention. 

Any chance to sneak glances at those arms and that ass was not to be sneered at. Usually.

Two solid weeks of not having a moment to himself in his office to actually get any proper work done, however, has burnt through the fraying strands of Phil's temper. Five of the newest crop of recruits are already puzzling through the Treaty of Lisbon and the Treaty of Rome and the difference in article numbering between the two. Barton is still hovering, poking at the dying fern in the only patch of sunlight that manages to filter through the narrow slit window on the outer wall of Phil's office.

He officially can not take it any more. This is the very end of his endurance of the kid glove treatment. "Barton."

"Yes, sir?"

"Don't you have some where to be?"

"Not really."

Phil raises an eyebrow. That can't be true, he knows of at least three ops in progress right now that would benefit from Barton's skills. "Hmmm."

He pulls up Clint's file in the system and the first, unavoidable item that jumps out at him is the glaring "INACTIVE" status in a bright red font. Phil glances up over the top of his screen. Barton is fiddling with the ends of a few fronds of the fern, pointedly not looking over. Looking back to the file, Phil reads on. The inactive status is pending a psych eval, unsurprising, but also pending a request to active status from the agent in question. Now that, that one is a surprise. Normally any time there's some kind of interruption in his status, Barton is immediately begging to be put back on missions. That he hasn't this time, after what Loki did to him, is worrying. Deeply worrying.

Phil saves his work in various reports and fires off a rapid email to those who will need to know that he's going to be unavailable for the rest of the day and possibly all of the following day. He sends a further email to Natasha, letting her know that he's going to deal with what ever is going on with Clint. She immediately pings him back with "Finally."

Okay, he might deserve that. He's been a little off his stride since nearly dying in the invasion, but clearly he's bounced back better than others. 

He exits the system and shuts down his computer. Folding his hands on his desk, he stills, staring at Clint who is still valiantly holding up a pretence of being completely absorbed in the fern. It takes longer than Phil would have originally guessed before the sniper breaks.

"What?!"

"I think you know what, Clint."

The use of his first name, especially here, has Clint's shoulders slumping. "Yeah, I know what."

"We're going to talk about it."

There's a flash of those beautiful eyes from under long lashes, and for a second Phil thinks that Clint is going to argue with him about it. He'd almost prefer it, that would be a sign of the old Clint, the Clint who has been missing for the past few months.

"Not here?"

Taking a long moment to consider it, the pros of being in a more comfortable place at home versus wanting to work through what is sure to be an emotionally draining conversation out of their safe, relaxing space, Phil nods slowly. "Alright, not here."

He stands and slips into the suit jacket he'd shed hours ago. Yes, they'll go home and hash this out and maybe, if he's lucky, he'll have his Clint back at the end of it. Maybe, if he's lucky, this won't be one more thing that Loki took from him.

**Author's Note:**

> * Eddie Izzard, "Dressed to Kill"


End file.
